OROVILLE &GT;&GT; Testimony began Thursday in the retrial of a man previously convicted of murdering his roommate in January 2012.

Defendant John Lawrence Halsema, 67, is charged in Butte County Superior Court with a count of murder for the shooting death of Craig Steven Davies on or about Jan. 30, 2012. The shooting took place at Davies' Nelson Bar Road residence in Yankee Hill.

A previous jury had convicted Halsema of second-degree murder in December 2012 and the defendant was later sentenced to 40 years to life.

Last January, the 3rd District Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for Halsema. Based on the evidence, appeals court judges ruled that trial court Judge James Reilley should have given the jury instructions to consider whether Halsema committed the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.

Man held in contempt

One of the witnesses in the afternoon refused to answer key questions. Judge Reilley ordered Friedrich Heindrikus Muniaerts, 43, to testify and then held the witness in contempt when Muniaerts again refused.

Muniaerts is serving a state prison sentence after violating probation in three cases, including one where he stole an antique car in Oroville in June 2012. Butte County sheriff's deputies later found stolen items on Muniaerts' Nelson Bar Road property, according to reports at the time of his arrest.

After Muniaerts refused to testify, chief deputy district attorney Francisco Zarate and a Butte County District Attorney's investigator read aloud the witness' original testimony from the first trial.

During the first trial, Muniaerts testified that Halsema paid damages after Muniaerts' dog was killed. He also recalled Davies and Halsema arguing over Halsema's dog.

Muniaerts also purchased an off-road vehicle from Davies. When the witness went to make the final payment at Davies' house, Halsema answered the door and said Davies was sleeping. Muniaerts said the situation was strange, including Halsema only opening the door a few inches.

Gun tested

Halsema's dog was a key element in the first trial. Halsema told officers that Davies had been acting erratically and threatened to kill his dog with a knife after Halsema tried to show him that Davies left a borrowed gun in an unsafe, loaded state.

The defendant previously testified that he panicked and thought Davies was going to kill his dog. The gun discharged when Halsema took a step backward. He said it was an accident.

Halsema waited nine days to call police on Feb. 8, 2012. He also put a knife in Davies' hand to make it appear Davies had been the aggressor.

On Thursday, senior criminalist Brandy Spas from the state Department of Justice testified about testing the handgun recovered in the case. She tested the amount of pressure needed to discharge the weapon, which exceeded the gunmaker's specifications.

Spas said the gun did not have a hair trigger, where only a little amount of pressure was needed to discharge the gun.